LAPD Officer Shot Black Teen from the Side
Wave Newspapers, News Report, Kevin Herrera, Posted: Aug 02, 2005
LOS ANGELES — A re-creation of the police shooting of a 13-year-old stolen car suspect last February revealed that the officer who fired the fatal shots was not behind the moving car as originally thought, but was standing at the side of it.
Police Chief William Bratton told the Police Commission Tuesday that the Los Angeles Police Department used assistance from Hollywood film studios to re-create the scene at 83rd Street and Western Avenue where 13-year-old Devin Brown was killed Feb. 6.
Deputy Police Chief Michael Berkow showed the Police Commission photographs from the elaborate re-enactment that was conducted on vacant land in the San Fernando Valley. Police then re-created various scenarios of what may have happened as the boy backed a stolen 1992 Toyota Camry into a police cruiser shortly before 4 a.m. that day, Berkow said.
The investigation revealed that Officer Steve Garcia fired 10 shots into the passenger side of the vehicle, seven of which struck the youth, Bratton said.
He said results of the Brown investigation are expected to be presented to the county District Attorney’s Office by next Monday.
“It is my belief and expectation, based on my awareness of our investigation, that [the district attorney] will not find that there’s any criminal liability on the part of any Los Angeles police officer,” Bratton said.
Activist Najee Ali criticized Bratton for making those kinds of statements that may influence the district attorney in the Brown case.
“As a chief of police, he needs to keep quiet until the investigation has been completed,” Ali said. “By doing so he is pressuring [District Attorney] Steve Cooley not to file charges. It is important for Chief Bratton to follow policy himself.”
Brown’s mother has filed a wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit against the city, maintaining her son “was not armed with any kind of weapon, and posed no reasonable threat of violence to Officer Garcia, nor to any other individual.”
The shooting was one of three incidents Bratton addressed at Tuesday’s Police Commission meeting.
The other two were the July 10 incident in which Jose Raul Peña and his 19-month-old daughter Suzie Marie were killed after a standoff on Peña’s auto repair business in South Los Angeles and the beating of stolen car suspect Stanley Miller in June 2004 in Compton.
The Peña shooting also was the topic of a Days of Dialogue session Tuesday night at the Watts Labor Community Action Committee.
Some participants in the Days of Dialogue session said they didn’t expect anything substantial to come out of the candid discussions involving police, residents, community activists and elected officials.
However, the consensus was the free-flowing dialogue provided a much-needed release for those who wanted to vent their frustrations with police, while also offering a rare chance for residents and officers to understand one another’s perspectives. There is hope that the friendly exchange fosters greater cooperation between the two groups.
“I’m glad we’re here,” said Watts activist Eddie Jones, who said the Days of Dialogue are the beginning of what he believes should be the LAPD’s top priority — getting more officers out of their patrol cars and on the streets talking with residents and building relationships. “We need to get back to the basics where cops are walking the streets and asking people ‘How are you today?’ We need to walk and talk together.”
Officers spoke openly Tuesday night about their colleagues’ depression following Suzie Marie Peña’s death by a SWAT team member’s bullet to the head, while residents voiced their disapproval of the officers’ tactics, but laid some of the blame with Suzie’s father, who authorities said used his daughter as a “human shield,” during the 2 1/2 hour standoff.
Residents also expressed their feeling that the LAPD is still operating like an “occupying force” that devalues black and Latino lives. Officers countered that with complaints of their own that many residents are too afraid or are unwilling to cooperate in investigations.
While heated at times, the discussions remained civil, handshakes were exchanged and people left with smiles on their faces.
“I’m definitely going to come back,” for another forum, said 16-year-old Raymond Lastra, who was walking by the WLCAC complex and decided to pop in. “The discussions are pretty interesting. I know [elected officials and the police department] just do it to get people off their backs for a little while and they never really do anything to solve the problems, but I did learn a lot. I think it was a good experience.”
Earlier in the day, Bratton briefed the Police Commission on the Peña case, announcing that a team of experts from outside of the department would investigate the tactics used by officers in the shootout.
The chief told the Police Commission that “something went tragically wrong on that day, and we need to determine exactly what went wrong so that we don’t have a repeat … ” incident.
The inquiry will include nationally recognized SWAT experts, Bratton said.
“Again, this was an awful tragedy for all concerned,” the chief said. “I think it’s incumbent on the department, to the best of our ability, to find out exactly what transpired on that day so that we can learn.”
Bratton said he did not believe any criminal charges would be filed against the 11 officers involved in the shootout, one of whom was wounded in the shoulder.
In the third case, Bratton said the LAPD filed administrative charges against six officers involved in the arrest of Stanley Miller, who was struck repeatedly with a flashlight following a pursuit on June 23, 2004.
Four of those officers were disciplined, while two opted for their cases to be heard before the police department’s Board of Rights, Bratton said.
A hearing for Officer John Hatfield concluded yesterday, and a verdict from the board is expected soon, Bratton said.
Hatfield was the LAPD officer caught on tape hitting Miller 11 times in the upper body with a foot-long, two-pound flashlight while the 37-year-old suspect was pinned to the ground.
A hearing for Officer David Hale will be held later this year, Bratton said.
In response to the televised beating, the LAPD announced plans to equip its officers with lighter flashlights that cannot be used as weapons. The new flashlights are expected to be distributed to officers by the beginning of next year, Bratton said.
Miller filed a $25 million claim against the city in July, alleging he suffered brain damage and other injuries during his arrest.
He was sentenced Dec. 8 to three years in state prison after pleading guilty to unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle and evading an officer.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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